Have you ever encountered a book that you really wish would become a motion picture just because the book is so true to life that it needs character representation? Yes, this book is a good candidate for that kind of vibe because it was written with great deal of details of character development and trajectory that you would want it to have a tangible visualization so as not to over work your imagination. Well many books are; I know, The Harry Potter series is one of those books, I can read your mind. But with this one, what sets it apart is that it doesn’t have magic, it doesn’t have so much life lessons, or it didn’t cultivate self-actualization for me at the end. The story it tells is plainly about human interaction and complexity of the the layers of self, in the family he/she will grow and pass on, and the community the person revolves in and how it affects the people they cross their lives with and vice versa who also have different complexity and perspective in life. As the story unfolds, you will witness how differences, be it race, culture or upbringing and even opinion create embers to fire and then to explosion just because one cannot get through, or one did not compromise, and one overlooked respect.
I. PLOT
As for an inexpert me, it is difficult to make a concise plot because Celeste Ng made a lot of layers and branches creating multiple plots and micro details that needless to say, made it challenging to compose. Almost sort of like 100 Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez), but 50% less complicated. 😀 In this part, I am including and deconstructing the conflicts I found in the story so it would be easy to digest the book.
The story sets in one of the family oriented suburb in Cleveland, Ohio, the Shaker Heights in the late 1990s. The Shaker Heights is one of the first founded community in US, a promising place from an external point of view, a close knit community, claims to respect racial differences, and considered a good place to start a brood.
The plot started with the Richardsons whose house was caught on fire and with one child missing, potentially even the one who burned the house down. The Richardsons is a brood of 6: Mrs. Elena Richardson- mother and a town journalist, Mr. Bill Richardson, a lawyer, with 4 kids in high school (age in order)- Lexie (female), Skip (male), Moody (male) and Izzy (female). They are an affluent family who developed deep bonds with their neighbors who happens to have equal social strata as with them. Before this end fiasco happened, Shaker Heights experienced series of changes that rocked their placid lives.
A single mother and photographer named Mia Warren, with a teenage daughter Pearl, decided to finally settle down in Shaker Heights after years and years of being rovers and chasers of art and life. Mia and Pearl rented a small place from the Richardsons. Pearl and Moody picked it up instantly as they are of same age and Moody was fascinated by Pearl and the new scent of freedom Pearl embodies. From then on, Pearl became friends with Moody’s siblings. Coming from a different way of life, in which the Richardsons were brought up with a certain structure and unshakeable stability, Pearl interacted differently with each of the siblings. Moody is the trustworthy one, whom she can be herself when they are together. Lexie was a couple of years older than her and the one who introduced her to sexuality and the troubles it ensued after discovering sexuality deeper. Skip, whom she was deeply infatuated with, and Izzy, the free spirited one, who wasn’t close to her but became close to Mia as she fancies the art Mia was into.
If you are ready for spoilers, scroll down and read the remaining plot. Otherwise, the above plot is sufficient enough and may proceed to part II to IV.
A. Conflict #1: Elena Richardson v Mia Warren
Mrs. Richardson is the epitome of the culture of Shaker Heights. She treads consistently by the rules as reflected on her own decisions in life. She descended from the fore founders of Shaker Heights and its formed values, and she honors them the best way she thinks she could: finished her education, get a respectable job, start a family and raise children in the best place she knows. She is committed to the idyllic version of life unshackled from complications. As long she provides love and care from her own standards, nothing will go astray.
She was confronted and challenged by the enigma of Mia Warren, the free- spirited artist who at a later time of her life decided to settle for once in their suburb. Mia Warren aside from being an artist, usually gets multiple part- time jobs to get by to support Pearl and her art, happens to be a waitress in one of the restaurants in town. She became acquainted with a Chinese waitress, Bebe Chow who is seemingly having predicament with her situation as an immigrant and a new single mom. Having piles and piles of problem and no easy way out, she regrettably left her infant to a nearby fire station and put her for adoption for a better life. However, Bebe Chow instantaneously awakened to her senses and started looking for her baby, demanding to be given a second chance now that is she coping better and becoming stable with her job. The baby girl was then on the process of adoption by the well-off McColloughs who has been for the longest time trying to conceive and adopt, and are close friends with the Richardsons. All has been going smoothly until the news came to Mia’s attention and told Bebe Chow that she knows where the baby is and whose family adopted her. Lawsuits were filed and the situation upscaled as the story was blown out of proportions appearing at TV news channels.
Their conflict came from each beliefs of adoption. Mia, believing that all mothers or any individual per se should be given second chance and a baby deserves her real mother if the mother meant to be better. While the Richardsons (even Mr. Richardson representing as the McColloughs defense lawyer) and the McColloughs strongly believe that since the baby was already put for adoption in the first place and the biological mother has no concrete promise of giving a good life, adoption should be pushed through. Mrs. Richardson, as an investigative journalist took matters in her hand and probed Mia’s history and life, tried to understand why are her beliefs dissimilar as hers. She then discovered that she was almost at the same situation as Bebe Chow. Unraveling the information she gathered, everything went south and berserk creating fires in all places.
B. Conflict #2: Pearl v Lexie
There wasn’t much of a conflict here but more of self- discovery, and of sound judgment when faced with important decisions in life. Pearl, aside from being close to Moody, developed sort of a “peg” – like friend from Lexie. Lexie being 2 years older exudes womanhood. From style of clothing, to mannerisms, and to socialization, Pearl has learned a lot from Lexie as she and Mia was always on the move before, she wasn’t able to establish a permanent way of dealing with her growth as a woman. Until Lexie introduced her to it that went beyond the limits. Lexie is a senior high schooler who had gotten pregnant and on the verge of deciding whether to continue on. Lexie asked Pearl to accompany her to the abortion clinic (in which it was legal at the state where they did it) and with the goodness of her heart, got along with her to the clinic without being judgmental. Only that, Lexie used Pearl’s name to hide her identity since Mrs. Richardson has also connection with the clinic manager. It was rather a rash decision (personally) in which she couldn’t fully grasp the entirety of having decided to terminate, so far as when they went home to Pearl’s place and Mia who took her under her wings temporarily to recover, Lexie kept asking Mia if her decision was right. Mia then answered that it was not her place to tell and it was what Lexie had to do at that time, but it was something she has to carry for the rest of her life. It imprinted a lot of lesson for Pearl, and for Mia it was another fire that surmised somewhere from the same place.
“Most of the time, everyone deserves more than one chance. We all do things we regret now and then. You just have to carry them with you.”
― Little Fires Everywhere
C. Conflict #3: Mrs. Richardson and Izzy
Mrs. Richardson always wanted a big family and that was what she had gotten. Most of her desires she was able to get it except for career growth and expansion, although having stayed and care for her family whilst being a local journalist felt rewarding enough. Her first 3 children was conceived smoothly until the last one, Izzy. Izzy has been a huge reason of her anxiety, a sickly baby she was, Mrs Richardson felt like she needed to direct her in all aspects. Izzy being the most free- spirited of the Richardson siblings, has a lot of misaligned views with her mother and in turn became rebellious in small, piling ways. Until the Warrens came, she found Mia’s way of life so interesting she developed a knack for her art. She was informally being an intern to Mia’s photography sessions. This was not bothersome at first for Mrs. Richardson but as the story delves deeper, it became a slight issue for Mrs. Richardson when the situation about the adoption became intense.
Izzy then discovered all the fires from all places in a such a messy way- Mrs. Richardson investigating about Mia and Pearl, and the other conflicts. What added to the fire was she learned about Mia and Pearl’s departure yet again after Mrs. Richardson confronted Mia. She remembered an advice she was given by Mia when they were having a conversation:
“Sometimes you need to scorch everything to the ground, and start over. After the burning the soil is richer, and new things can grow. People are like that, too. They start over. They find a way.”
― Little Fires Everywhere
At this point of her distress and rage, she both took it figuratively and literally, did what she had to do and ran away hoping to catch the Warrens and at last, relish freedom.
There are other conflicts in the story but I rather not reveal as I practically summarized mostly everything.
II. EVALUATION
As I mentioned earlier, this book by Celeste Ng intentionally has deep roots, with many layers and branches. Personally for me, the beginning wasn’t easy. It began from where the end might lead, like the one you see in movies. Characters were slowly built up but it was understandable because it is set to have many layers and branches. My pace for both reading it and for writing about it was leaden because I, for one, is not a seasoned writer, and the book as mentioned above was not easy in its initial phase. However, as I reach the part where there is budding conflict, it became a page turner, even difficult to put down the book. So, for me, it gets better at the middle. For the Resolution part, well, it kind of didn’t jive with the way I wanted it to be. I’d like it to have an unmitigated resolution such that everyone would have an awakening and a realization especially the Richardsons why things happened. But perhaps Celeste Ng arrived at the notion that some things are better left as it is. I don’t know, it was more of a shortfall for me but still interesting.
III. INSIGHT
The narrative for me is more of an introspection and self- review rather than self- actualization. It wasn’t a tear-jerker, but it gave a closer look at humanity and the difference of ideals and of way of life.
“One had followed the rules, and one had not. But the problem with rules… was that they implied a right way and a wrong way to do things. When, in fact, most of the time they were simply ways, none of them quite wrong or quite right, and nothing to tell you for sure what side of the line you stood on.”
― Little Fires Everywhere
There is no hard and fast rule in living, in parenting, in friendship, in beliefs, but I think what holds it together is respecting each others freedom and choices and to perceive that everyone carries something. It is rather an opportunity to understand, be level- headed without compromising our own perspective but making it a guide in relating to others.
I’d also like to point out the situation of Bebe Chow for mental health awareness. Maybe she didn’t ask for help and that was the reason why people in the suburb were unaware of her predicament. But mind you, she was an immigrant with language barrier, and left by her partner on her early stages of morherhood. It was so damn difficult. I think that’s the pervasive problem about mental health even of today, is that when a person suffering from a psychological condition, say most likely in this case, Post-partum depression, would definitely develop helplessness and it is overlooked and we wash hands knowing thst person didn’t ask for help. There is a humane code for people who are in the same circle to provide a bridge to end helplessness and give link for support. Recognize a person’s plight, empathize, and offer help. We grew up in a generation of mind your own business, but it’s also a high time to empower.
IV. RECOMMENDATION
Honestly, if you are looking for a feel-good book, this is not the one. But it you are looking for an in-depth fiction for humanity, yes, I will highly recommend. This is a book that is unapologetic to the conflicts of the narrative, in which you as a reader is able to draw a moral from it, or a review of your own morals. In rating, I’m giving this 4/5 stars. Goodreads rated this at 4.1/5 stars to date.
In my last reading, this novel will become miniseries that will be released on 2020. Checkout Wikipedia site.
The Housewife, MD 